Fitzhugh Hall Demolition

It was a bittersweet moment when Fitzhugh Hall’s east wing came down last Friday, June 29.  A crowd of spectators made up of alumni, staff, faculty and news stations gathered to watch and record the demolition.

Wall braces were put on the south wall so it would not collapse during the demolition.

The demolition crew started at the east side and worked their way in towards the west.  They methodically and carefully brought down sections of the 100 year old building.

Crews are currently working to complete the demolition process. After all of the debris is cleared out and the swimming pool under Fitzhugh is removed, the work on the foundation can begin.

Fitzhugh’s west wing still stands by itself, untouched and intact.

This new chapter of Belhaven’s history will see the rebuilding of Fitzhugh Hall’s east wing with the addition of new facilities for science.  It will be a place to prepare and educate coming generations of Christian men and women to lead in science and glorify Christ.

Here is a video of the demolition.

Here is a report from WLBT about the Fitzhugh Hall demolition.

WLBT.com – Jackson, MS

This is a report about Fitzhugh from WAPT.

Fitzhugh Hall in the News

Ongoing news coverage continues as construction workers prepare Fitzhugh’s east wing for demolition.  News has spread throughout Mississippi and to other states about the Fitzhugh Renovation Project.

Here is a video from Fox 40 News: Fitzhugh Hall coverage on Fox 40

Here is another video from 16 WAPT News:

 

The Fitzhugh Renovation Project was picked up by many other newspapers and broadcast news stations like:

Clarion Ledger – Jackson, MS

WLBT – Jackson, MS

The Republic – Columbus, IN

KNOE News – Monroe, LA

The Times-Picayune – New Orleans, LA

WHIO-TV News – Dayton, OH

WMC-TV Channel 5 News – Memphis, TN

 

Here some computer generated images of what Fitzhugh Hall will look like after the new science wing is completed.

Visit the Fitzhugh Renovations page to see how you can help support this momentous undertaking for Belhaven University.

 

 

Fitzhugh Hall update

Fitzhugh Hall is getting a great deal of attention from local media. The Clarion Ledger newspaper and WAPT both featured stories about the exciting changes happening to Fitzhugh.

Front page Clarion Ledger article:

New plans for old Fitzhugh Hall

 

Here are two additional articles the Clarion Leger did based on the collection of Fitzhugh stories on this blog:

Bell signaled sweetheart’s visit: ‘I still have it’

Forum allows alumni to record memories

 

Here are some old and new photos the Clarion Ledger posted to their website:

Belhaven’s Fitzhugh Hall

 

16 WAPT is also keeping up with the progress of Fitzhugh Hall.

Fitzhugh Hall gets facelift 

Fitzhugh Hall Construction Blog

Many new, exciting campus developments and renovations are happening during the summer at Belhaven University, the biggest being Fitzhugh Hall.

Starting from the ground and up, construction has already started in and around Belhaven’s 100 year-old building. Workers are currently clearing out the old piping, equipment and units from the mechanical room under Fitzhugh.

New windows and other newer items that were put in the east wing last December are being taken out and recycled.

The oak trees were trimmed to make space and prepare for the upcoming construction on Fitzhugh.

The many people that pass by each day will get to experience the transformation that Fitzhugh will soon go through.

The Belhaven Science Department will have a new home in Fitzhugh’s east wing when it is done.  To accommodate the science departments needs, the east wing will extend its walls and include a new lobby with an east entrance, new classrooms, laboratories, and faculty offices.  The west wing will also receive some renovations, but mainly to the interior portion.

The main demolition of Fitzhugh’s east wing will happen within a few weeks from now.

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) were on campus and lending a hand as part of a service project while they were at Belhaven for an annual FCA conference.

Students painted fences behind the cube, painted railing all around the campus and cleaned bleachers in Rugg Arena. Thank you to FCA for their selfless acts of service!

Keep checking back at the blog for updates about all of the exciting growth happening at Belhaven University.

Communication Student’s Article Featured in Magazine

Megan Driscoll, a Belhaven University Communication Major, recently wrote an article for an online news magazine based out of New York called Word News.

 

The story is below:

 

College students develop allegorical video game that goes beyond just entertainment

BY MEGAN DRISCOLL

JACKSON. Miss. (WordNews.org) April 23, 2012 – Imagine a video game where the Christian worldview is a foundational aspect of the storyline. Imagine a game that not only entertains the player, but teaches biblical principles as well. Imagine a character whose life mirrors that of every human’s struggles, adventures and search for fulfillment in life.

Meet Lennie.

Lennie is a delivery-bot, a robot designed by the Narrator – the God character of the game – to deliver packages around the robot world. He is given a specific purpose for his life by his designer, but initially rejects it, pursuing his own path, which leads him down paths of confusion and unhappiness.

Sound familiar?

Lennie is the allegorical brainchild of college students Chad Harman, Joey Nelms, Scott Foreman and Kyle Woolley. Just finishing up their sophomore year at Belhaven University, these four guys collectively run a game developing company based out of Jackson, Miss. called Cryogenic Studios, LLC.

Combining the art of storytelling with visual media, Cryogenic Studios seeks to bring about meaningful, didactic entertainment. Their focus is on making clean content that serves the purpose of teaching people of all ages about living lives in service to their Creator.

“So much today, amusement is merely something to lose yourself in. The purpose of Cryogenic Studios is to create material that goes beyond the standard means of entertainment and beyond the standard view of amusement,” says Harman, director of studio projects.

Cryogenic Studios is a young, startup company, but the dream to produce meaningful video games has been in the guys’ minds since their freshman year.

The concept began with a simple sketch of a robot scribbled on the margin of a notebook, Harman’s idea of Lennie gave rise to Cryogenic Studio’s first major project. After showing the sketch to Nelms, and suggesting they make an allegorical video game, the guys jumped into the world of game development.

“Without giving much of the plot away, Lennie encounters a variety of scenarios that make life difficult for him to keep going on,” Harman says. “Throughout his robot life, he realizes that he will be able to go on only with the help of the Narrator’s voice in his life.”

This concept is one fundamental to the Christian worldview, yet oftentimes complicated by human selfishness.

“Lennie is a simple game. And its style is very indicative of its purpose. The game seeks to simplify every person’s walk on this earth in a stylistic 2D way,” says Nelms, the company’s director of concept art and design. “This way, people of all ages can relate to what Lennie is going through.”

Excited to work on such a unique project, Harman and Nelms recruited some of their friends at school to help with computer programming, conceptual art and level music composition.

“I think that’s the best thing about being in college and doing this, is the fact that you are surrounded by people who are good at what they do,” says Harman.

Belhaven University is a private Christian school in Jackson, Miss., known for its national arts accreditation.

“I love video games and everyone who works with us loves video games,” Harman says. “I see them as a medium to inspire and illustrate my personal Christian faith. That’s essentially why we decided to start a video game company.”

Building a company from the ground up is no easy task, however.

“Producing a game is very expensive. All the money we acquire right now is going into buying licenses, art supplies and purchasing copyrights. No one’s being paid a salary for their work yet. It’s all volunteer,” says Harman. “Everything we do is specifically private funding based. We have an investor and there are other investors who are looking into the product, but the need is still there.”

Cryogenic Studios plans to release Lennie in 2013. To learn more about Cryogenic Studios, LLC., their mission and upcoming projects, www.cryogenicstudios.com.